This invention relates to devices for splitting solid pills, tablets and the like and, in particular, relates to devices with the capability to split solid pills of virtually any shape, can be manipulated by the aged and/or the infirm or the blind, and is inexpensive to manufacture.
It is frequently required that prescription pills, vitamin pills and the like be ingested at a dosage which is less than that of a full pill. Additionally, it is often the case that pills can be more economically purchased if they are purchased at a higher dosage and then split to the desired dosage. While the need to split pills is widespread, it is also the case that the persons who are aged and/or infirm are the most likely to require some form of medication and therefore are the ones who are most likely to require a pill splitter. Unfortunately, persons who are aged and/or infirm are the ones who are also more likely to have difficulty in engaging in the manual dexterity, or who have the sight, required to accurately manipulate pill splitters available prior to the subject invention.
The primary failing of the prior art is that of providing an inexpensive pill splitting device that can be used to positively position pills of various shapes and sizes so that they can be accurately split. The pills that are most easily split are those that are round. A number of pill splitting devices employ a simple V shaped pill bed to center round pills for splitting. However, when an attempt is made to utilize a simple V shaped configuration to center pills of other than round configurations, the trembling hands of the aged and/or the infirm, coupled with the possibility of poor or no eyesight, can make the accurate centering of a pill extremely difficult.
A number of pill splitting devices have been proposed which address the splitting of pills of various shapes. Examples are: U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,528 to Reitano describes a pill splitter that utilizes a family of beds, which substantially conform to the shapes of pills to be split. This approach requires a relatively expensive device to manufacture and the installation of the various pill splitting beds poses a challenge to the aged and/or the infirm or the blind. Additionally, a number of pill splitting beds must be kept track of so as not to be lost and new beds must be added as new pill shapes and sizes are developed; U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,021 to Flocchi describes a pill splitting device which incorporates a pill bed enclosed by a diamond shaped wall. The diamond shape accommodates round pills, but the only place that an elongated pill can be accurately centered is at the midpoint of the diamond. Even then, the elongated pill must be of the same longitudinal dimension as the dimension of the midpoint of the diamond. Elongated pills of a lesser dimension cannot be positively centered by someone whose hands tremble or who has poor or no eyesight. Pills of other than elongated or round configurations are not addressed in Flocchi's patent; U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,475 to Wolff describes a pill splitting device that claims to accommodate both round and elongated pills. However, there are no positive means for securing a pill in a centered position and the pill can readily slip to an unfavorable position while the cover is being closed. This would be especially true if a person with trembling hands and/or poor or no sight was using the device. Additionally, the centering device described in Wolff's patent is fixed in dimension and does not lend itself to various pill lengths.